The Freshwater Mussel Resources

of the Buffalo National River, Arkansas

Phase I Qualitative Survey: Location, Species Composition,

and Status of Mussel Beds

September 1, 1996

FINAL REPORT

Submitted by:

John L. Harris, Ph.D. 1230 1 Pleasant Forest Drive

Little Rock, AR 722 12

The Freshwater Mussel Resources

of the Buffalo National River, Arkansas

Phase I Qualitative Survey: Location, Species

Composition and Status of Mussel Beds

Introduction

Freshwater mussels (also called naiads, unionids, or clams) of the families

Margaritiferidae and Unionidae are worldwide in distribution but reach their

greatest diversity in North America with about 297 recognized taxa (281 species

and 16 subspecies) (Williams et al, 1993). Adult mussels occupy a wide range of

habitats but are most often associated with lotic (running) waters. Mussels are

planktivores and serve as food for fishes and other vertebrate predators.

During .the past 30 years, numbers of both individuals and species diversity

of native mussels have declined throughout the United States and Canada.

Freshwater mussels (as well as other aquatic species) are disproportionately

imperiled relative to terrestrial species. For example, The Nature Conservancy

recognized 55 percent of North America's mussels as extinct or imperiled

compared to only seven percent of the continent's bird and mammal species

(Master 1990). This alarming decline, the severity of which was not recognized

until recently, is primarily the result of habitat destruction and degradation

associated with adverse anthropogenic activities (Williams et al, 1993).

The freshwater mussel fauna of the Buffalo National River has been studied

by Meek and Clark (1912) and Babcock and McDonald (1973). Twenty-six

species have been recorded from the Buffalo River drainage (Gordon et al, 1980),

and these species are listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Freshwater mussels of the Buffalo River, Arkansas (Gordon et al, 1980).

Species (Scientific Name) Common Name

Actinonaias ligamentina Alasmidonta marginata Amblema plicata Cyclonaias tuberculata Cyprogenia aberti Elliptio dilatata Fusconaia Java Fusconaia ozarkensis Lampsilis cardium Lampsilis reeveiana Lampsilis siliquoidea Lasmigona costata Ligumia recta Ligumia subrostrata Pleurobema coccineum Potamilus purpuratus Ptychobranchus occidentalis Quadrula cylindrica Quadrula pustulosa Stroph itus undulatus Toxolasma lividus Toxolasma parvus Tr itogonia verrucosa Venustaconcha pleasi Villosa iris Villosa lienosa

mucket elktoe threeridge purple wartyback western fanshell spike Wabash pigtoe Ozark pigtoe plain pocketbook Arkansas broken-ray fatmucket fluted-shell black sandshell pondmussel round pigtoe bleufer Ouachita kidneyshell rabbitsfoot pimpleback squawfoot purple lilliput lilliput pistolgrip bleedingtooth mussel rainbow little spectaclecase

The Meek and Clark (1912) survey was conducted from July 21 through

August 6, 19 10. Their survey encompassed the entire mainstem of the river from

the Arkansas Highway 7 crossing in Newton County downstream to the

confluence with the White River. In addition to determining the species occurring

in the Buffalo River, Meek and Clark recorded the location and relative species

composition of mussel beds fiom 26 stations along the river's length. Meek and

Clark determined "mussel beds, as compared with those on the White River, were

neither large nor plentiful, and these occupied only the favorable places in the bed

of the stream which appeared to be permanent. No beds were found on sand bars,

and when found on gravel bars the sand and gravel were mixed with larger

fragments of rocks".

The work of Meek and Clark offers a unique opportunity to determine the

temporal and spatial stability of mussel beds in the Buffalo River over an 85-year

period in terms of both species composition and physical location. This report

summarizes results of a Phase I qualitative survey to determine the location,

species composition and status of mussel beds in the Buffalo National River from

Pruitt to the confluence with the White River. This approximately 100 river mile

survey area covers essentially the same area surveyed by Meek and Clark in 1910.

Methods.

Buffalo National River personnel reviewed Meek and Clark (1912)

descriptions of expedition camp sites and mussel bed sites and attempted to

correlate these with modem maps. All camp site and mussel bed interpretations

were transferred to USGS 7.5 minute topographic maps for use in the field.

The National Biological Survey and U. S. Department of the Interior

Library and Archives were contacted in hopes of locating original field notes

and/or maps fiom the Meek and Clark expedition to more precisely define

locations of their survey stations. All attempts to locate original documents failed.

An attempt was made to traverse the entire survey area by canoe during the

summer and fall 1995. Table 2 summarizes field days spent and segments

covered.

Table 2. Dates and segments for Phase I Buffalo National River mussel survey, July - October 1995.

Date Survey Segment

20 July 1995 21 July 1995 19 August 1995 18 August 1995 20 August 1995 30 September 1995 1 October 1995 2 October 1995

Pruitt to Hasty low water bridge Hasty low water bridge to Mt. Hersey Woolum (White Bluff) to Tyler Bend Tyler Bend to Gilbert Gilbert to Maumee North Maumee North to Buffalo Point Buffalo Point to Camp 1 Camp 1 to White River

Approximately 14 river miles between Mt. Hersey and downstream of

Woolum were not covered during this survey because of low water conditions. On

19 August 1995, river conditions upstream and downstream of Woolum consisted

of intermittent pools with long segments of dewatered gravel and cobble

substrates. Discussions with locals and a pedestrian survey revealed that the river

resurfaced in the vicinity of White Bluff (Section 6; R17W; T15N). Only one of

Meek and Clark's stations was located in the area not covered during this survey.

Survey methodology consisted of canoeing the river until live mussels or

relict shells were encountered. Low water levels, high water clarity, and presence

of sporadic muskrat middens facilitated location of potential survey sites.

Particular attention was given to areas in tlie immediate vicinity of presumed Meek

and Clark survey locations.

When live or dead mussels were encountered, the area was surveyed by

snorkeling techniques to determine the presence or absence of live mussels, the

area inhabited by live mussels, estimated maximum density of live mussels, and

species composition of mussels at each site. Live mussels encountered were

bagged, brought to the surface for identification and enumeration, and later

replaced in the substrate in the area fiom which they were taken. Counts of

common species were kept while snorkeling so that not all individuals were

physically disturbed. Voucher specimens of each species were collected and will

be deposited at the Arkansas State University Museum of Zoology.

Semi-quantitative samples were taken at six beds with the highest mussel

densities within the survey area. Sample methodology consisted of placing a

meter square quadrat composed of 2.5 cm PVC pipe in the area of maximum

bivalve density and then removing all mussels encountered for identification and

enumeration. All mussels (except vouchers) were then replaced in the substrate

within the same m2 fiom which they were removed.

Nomenclature used in this report follows Turgeon et a1 (1988). Appendix A

lists synonyms and common names utilized by Meek and Clark (1912) and

compares these with currently accepted scientific and common names.

Results

Forty total sites were examined and mussels collected from them during this

survey (Figures 1 and 2), and an additional 13 sites with minor mussel habitation

were noted but not sampled. Twenty-one species of native unionid bivalves were

identified during this survey £iom among the 1333 live and 246 fresh dead (relict

shells) specimens examined. Table 3 summarizes the qualitative results of the

specimens collected. Field notes from each survey site are located in Appendix B.

Five relatively abundant species accounted for approximately 82 percent of

the live specimens examined, and these include Actinonaias ligamentina (36.0%),

Amblema plicata (16.1%), Ptychobranchus occidentalis (11.4%), Lampsilis

Figure 1 . Buffalo River mussel survey sites from Pruitt to Mt. Hersey, Newton County, Arkansas. (Sites 7 and 8 represented by single dot.)